Home: Aliza le Roux, PhD

I am a behavioral ecologist with a focus on the evolution of complex cognition and communication in wild mammals. Through my career thus far I have investigated central questions in cognitive ecology and communication research by studying species with unusual social structures and foraging habits. For my PhD project, I focused on acoustic and olfactory communication in the yellow mongoose, a facultatively social carnivore. While carnivores still lay close to my heart, I went on to do postdoctoral research for the University of Michigan's Gelada Research Project. This was an exciting collaboration, leading most recently to a paper on deception and punishment in wild primates. I am still collaborating on several papers with the University of Michigan, writing about the complex sociality and communicative patterns of gelada monkeys.

Research
PlansI am currently working as senior lecturer at the University of the Free State, Qwaqwa, in South Africa, where I am starting up the new Mammalian Cognition Research Group. In this research group, we are focusing on the cognitive ecology of primates and carnivores, and specifically the bat-eared fox. This monogamous carnivore is unusual amongst canids, both for its insectivorous diet and high degree of paternal care. In my planned research I will build on my expertise with field research to investigate the physiological, developmental and cognitive consequences of the bat-eared fox's unique behavioral patterns. I am also currently conducting captive research at local zoos, assessing differences in spatial cognition and episodic-like memory in canids. Finally, I have a postdoctoral researcher conducting field research at the Lajuma Research Centre, investigating how fear/risk affects the cognitive functioning of samango monkeys.

I am looking for postgraduate students who are interested in carnivore behaviour, cognition, and endocrinology. If you are interested in joining my research group, please do contact me at leroux.aliza "at" gmail.com

* Keep checking back for more details and a website specific to this research group*